[CHAPTER LV. 1-5.]

The Lord exhorts those who are anxious to be saved, to appropriate the blessings of salvation which are so liberally offered, and which, although bestowed without money and price, can alone truly satisfy the soul, vers. 1 and 2. For He is to make with them a covenant of everlasting duration, in which the eternal mercy promised to the family of David is to be realized, ver. 3. David--such is the salvation in store for the Church--is to be a witness, prince, and lawgiver of all the Gentiles who, with joyful readiness, shall unite themselves to Israel.

Ver. 1. "Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water, and ye that have no silver, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price."

The discourse is addressed to the members of the Church pining away in misery. By the water, salvation is denoted, as is not unfrequently the case, comp. chap. xii. 3: "And with joy ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation," xliv. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 7, lxxxiv. 7, cvii. 35. The thirsty one is he who stands in need of salvation. To the words: "Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water," the Lord refers in John vii. 37: ἐάν τις διψᾷ ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω, where the πρός με had been added from ver. 3. It is to be observed that Christ there appropriates to himself what Jehovah is here speaking. Michaelis says: "Christ, in consequence of the highest identity, makes the words of the Father His own." There is an evident reference to the same words in Rev. xxi. 6 also: ἐγὼ τῷ διψῶντι δώσω ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς δωρεάν. Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17: καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν. In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us, but yet undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν. Vers. 13, 14: πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν· ὃς δʼ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. And so does, in another aspect. Matt. xi. 28: δεῦτε πρός με οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι κᾀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, which, however, has still nearer points of resemblance to ver. 3; for δεῦτε πρός με corresponds to לכו אלי in that verse; the words κᾀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς, to: "Your soul shall live" there, but yet in such a way that there is, at the same time, a reference to Jer. vi. 16; the κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι are the thirsty ones in the verse before us. It is remarkable to see how important this unassuming declaration was to our Lord, and how much He had it at heart. We are thereby urgently called upon, by means of deep and earnest study and meditation, to arrive at the full meaning of the Old Testament, which is everywhere connected with the New Testament, not only by the strong and firm ties of express quotations, but also by the nicest and most tender threads of gentle allusions. Even Matt. v. 6: μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην comes into a close relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that δικαιοσύνην is not the subjective righteousness which is excluded from that context, but rather righteousness as a gift of God, the actual justification, such as takes place in the bestowal of salvation; so that, hence, the righteousness there corresponds with the water here. The subsequent "eat" furnishes the foundation for the fact, that the need of and desire for salvation, is designated by hunger also,--"Come ye, buy and eat." שבר "to break," is used of the appeasing of thirst (comp. Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp. Gen. xlii. 19); and corn is called שֶׁבֶר for this reason that it breaks the hunger. The verb never means "to buy" in general, but only such a buying as affords the means of appeasing hunger and thirst. Nor does it, in itself, stand in any relation to corn, except in so far only as the latter is a chief moans of appeasing hunger. This we see not only from Ps. civ. 11, but also from that which here immediately follows, where it is used of the buying of wine and milk. The buying of necessary provisions is commonly designated by the Kal; the selling by the Hiphil. In Gen. xli. 26, the selling too is designated by the Kal. He who causes that one can break or appease, may himself also be designated as he who breaks or appeases. This verb, so very peculiar, and the noun שֶׁבֶר, occur in a certain accumulation, in the history of Joseph only; elsewhere, their occurrence is sporadic only. It is then to the hunger of Israel in ancient times, and to its being appeased by Joseph, that the double שברו alludes; and from this circumstance also the fact is to be explained, that it is first used in reference to food; comp. שברו ואכלו in our verse, with שבר אכל in Gen. xlii. 7-10. Christ is the true Joseph, who puts an end to the hunger and thirst of the people of God, by offering true food and true drink.--The word "eat" suggests substantial food, bread in contrast to the drink by which it is surrounded on both sides; compare John vi. 35: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ (שברו) καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ πώποτε. Ver. 55: ἡ γὰρ σάρξ μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι βρῶσις, καὶ τὸ αἷμά μου ἀληθῶς ἐστι πόσις. From the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it appears that the thrice repeated coming and the buying are accomplished by true repentance, the μετάνοια, which is the indispensable condition of the participation in the salvation. In John vi. 35, the words: ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς με are explained by: ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ. Faith is the soul of repentance.--The circumstance that the buying is done without money, intimates that the blessings of salvation are a pure gift of divine grace. These blessings of salvation are first designated by water; afterwards, by wine and milk,--thus approximating to those passages in which the blessings of the Kingdom of Christ appear under the image of a rich repast, to which the members of the Kingdom are invited as guests, Ps. xxii. 26-30; Matt. viii. 11, xxii. 2; Luke xiv. 16; Rev. xix. 9.--Some Rationalistic interpreters understand, by the offered blessings, the salutary admonitions of the Prophet; but decisive against these are vers. 3 and 11, according to which it is not present, but future blessings, not words, but real things which are spoken of, viz., the salvation which is to be brought through Christ. What that is which constitutes the substance of this salvation, we learn from chap. liii. It is the redemption and reconciliation by the Servant of God. Yet we must not, after the manner of several ancient interpreters, limit ourselves to the "evangelical righteousness." On the contrary, the whole fulness of the salvation in Christ is comprehended in it; and according to vers. 4 and 5, this includes the dominion over the world by the Kingdom of God,--its dominion over the Gentile world, and the investiture of its members with the full liberty and glory of the children of God.

Ver. 2. "Wherefore do ye weigh money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken, hearken unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."

From ver. 3, we see that it is not the Prophet, but the Lord who speaks. "That which is not bread," and "that which satisfieth not," is something which outwardly has the appearance of good and nutritious food, and to obtain which the hungry ones therefore strive, and exert themselves with all their might, but which afterwards shows itself to be food in appearance only, and which has not the power of satisfying. "That which is not bread," is, in the first instance, the imagined salvation which they sought to obtain from idols for much money. This appears from the intentional literal reference to chap. xlvi. 6, where the Prophet reproves the folly of those who, in the face of the living God, "lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith, that he make it a god, work also and fall down." With perfect justice Stier remarks: "Notwithstanding the connection with, and allusion to, the circumstances of that time, the word of the Prophet is to be understood in a general, spiritual way, as a melancholy, bitter lamentation over the general misery, and man's deep-rooted perverseness in running with effort and exertion, after that which is pernicious to the soul, and in serving some Baal better than Jehovah."

"Fatness" occurs as a figurative designation of the glorious gifts of God, in Ps. xxxvi. 9 also.

Ver. 3. "Incline your ears and come unto me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will grant to you an everlasting covenant, the constant mercies of David."

The introductory words allude, in a graceful manner, to two Messianic psalms, and remind us of the fact, that the prophecy before us moves on the same ground as these psalms. On "incline your ear, and come unto me, hear," comp. Ps. xlv. 11: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear (from the fundamental passage, the Singular is here retained), and forget thy people and thy father's house." On "your soul shall live," comp. Ps. xxii. 27: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied, they shall praise the Lord that seek Him, your heart shall live for ever." Analogous are the references to Ps. lxxii. in chap. xi. The soul dies in care and grief In the words: "I will grant to you," &c., there follow the glad tidings which are to heal the dying hearts. כרת ברית is used of God, even where no reciprocal agreement takes place, but where He simply confers grace; because every grace which He bestows imposes, at the same time, an obligation, and may hence be considered as a covenant. The onesidedness is, in such a case, indicated by the construction with ל, comp. chap. lxi. 8: "And I give them their reward in truth, and I make (grant) to them an everlasting covenant," Jer. xxxii. 40; Ezek. xxxiv. 25; Ps. lxxxix. 4. Since to make a covenant is here identical with granting mercy, אכרתה may also be connected with the subsequent "the constant mercies of David," and there is no necessity for supposing a Zeugma. The everlasting covenant here, is the new covenant in Jer. xxxi. 31-34; for the words "I will make" show that, here too, a new covenant is spoken of. The substance of the covenant to be made is expressed in the words: "The constant mercies of David," &c. By "David," many interpreters here understand the descendant of David, the Messiah, who, in other passages also, e.g., Jer. xxx. 9, bears the name of His type. Even Abenezra refers to the fact that, in ver. 4, the Messiah is necessarily required as the subject. The constant mercies of David are, according to this view--in parallelism with the "everlasting covenant"--the mercies constantly continuing, in contrast to the merely transitory mercies, such as had been those of the first David. According to the opinion of other interpreters, David designates here, as in Hos. iii. 5, the family of David who, in Ps. xviii., and in a series of other psalms, speaks in the name of his whole family. As regards the sense, this explanation arrives at the same result. For, according to it, the Messiah is He in whom the Davidic house attains to its fall destiny, the channel through which the mercies of David flow in upon the Church. For the latter interpretation, however, is decisive the evident reference to the divine promise to David, in 2 Sam. vii., especially vers. 15, 16: "And my mercy shall not depart from him (thy race) ... and constant (נאמן) is thine house, and thy kingdom for ever before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever;"

compare Ps. lxxxix. 29: "My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant is constant in him." Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50: "Lord, where are thy former mercies which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?" likewise suggest that, by David, not simply Christ is to be understood, but the Davidic family. The constant mercies of David are, accordingly, the mercies which have been sworn to the Davidic house as constant, which, therefore, can never rest until Christ has appeared with His everlasting Kingdom, in which they find their true and full realization. In the expectation of the Messiah from the house of David, the prophecy under consideration goes hand in hand with chap. xi. 1, where the Messiah appears as a twig which proceeds from the cut-down tree of Jesse; and with chap. ix. 6, according to which He sits on the throne of David. This passage alone is fully sufficient against those (Ewald, Umbreit, and others) who advance the strange assertion, that the Prophet had altogether given up the idea of a Messiah from the house of David, and had distributed His property between Cyrus and the prophetic order, or the pious portion of the people. It is of the greatest importance for the explanation of those passages which treat of the Servant of God, and forms a point of union for the Messianic passages of the first and second part. The passage before us is quoted in Acts xiii. 34: ὅτι δὲ ἀνέστησεν αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν, μηκέτι μέλλοντα ὑποστρέφειν εἰς διαφθοράν οὕτως, εἴρηκεν · ὅτι δώσω ὑμῖν τὰ ὅσια Δαυὶδ τὰ πιστά. Ὅσια Δαυὶδ, sancta Davidis, are the sacred, inviolable, inalienably guaranteed mercies and blessings which have been promised to the house of David. As certainly as these must be granted, so certainly Christ, who was to bring them, could not remain in the power of death.